Since we came across Penicillium nalgiovense  in 2016, we have constantly been working with this ingredient in R+D kitchen. It is a microorganism which grows on animal proteins and it creates the white mold appears on certain cold cuts (fuet, salami, longaniza, bresaola etc.).The controlled production on different surfaces, not only tickled our curiosity, but we also found intriguing textures which opened different paths in the palate.

It took two years to master the technique, to adapt it to an idea that was stimulating for us: to draw a line what is alive and what is dead on a dish. The result of this exercise came about in 2018, with our "Vellus of life". We cured a portion of loin in brine, we flattened it and we sprinkled it with the microorganism carefully and then we let it ferment for 48 hours at 28ºC and 60% of humidity.

The final result was a veil of meat with a velvet texture, which we used to wrap a tartar of a meat dressed with mustard seeds.